Machine for cutting shank-pieces.



No. 675M. Patented June 4, 190i. J. LEWIS.

MACHINE FUR CUTTING SHANK PIECES.

(Application filed Apr. 14, 1900.) (No Model.) 3 $heets-Shaet 2.

I] III-I- "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! IIIIIIIIIu-IIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllIIlIIllllIIIIIIIIIIIIII I IIIL -IFIIIIIIuummmmunmI? 3 1 I WHI IIIII IIIIIIII rll m IIIIIIIIIIIII|I|IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM ma uonms PETERS ca. PnoTuumu. wAsmncTon, n. c.

Patented June 4, 190i.

J. LEWIS.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SHANK PIECES.

(Appfication filed Apr. 14, 1900.)

3 Sheets-Sheat 3.

(N0 Model.)

fill a UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN LEWIS, OF BROWVNVILLE, MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE E. M. LEYVIS, OF TRURO, CANADA.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SHANK-PIECES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Eatent No. 675,661, dated June 4:, 1901. Application filed April 14, 1900. Serial No. 12,803. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JO-HN LEWIS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of Brownville, Piscataquis county, Maine, have invented certain new? and useful Improvements in Machines for Cutting Shank- Pieces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shoe-shank stiffeuers, commonly called shank pieces, which are made from a thin ribbon cut from a bolt of wood in a lathe especially designed for the work.

The object of this invention is to construct a machine for cutting said shank-pieces from the thin ribbon, usually in the form of a coil, which is automatically fed to the machine.

In accordance with this invention knives are provided and arranged to work at an angle in said machine, and means for reciprocating said knives is provided, and said knives are constructed and arranged to cut out a waste piece or strip as said ribbon is fed to said machine to form shank-pieces, and a narrow cutting-block is provided, against opposite sides of which said knives strike as said waste piece is severedto form the shankpiece, and means is provided for disengaging and removing said waste piece cut out of said ribbon by said knives, and feed mechanism is provided to intermittently feed said ribbon in front of said cutting-block and said knives the width of a shank-piece and to press said ribbon against said cutting-block while said knives cut out said Sllftllk-PlGCGS. The thin ribbon is usually curved to conform, substantially, to the curve of a shank of a shoe, and means is provided whereby a curved strip or ribbon fed in front of said knives may be straightened and firmly pressed against said cutting-block while said knives cut out said waste piece between said shankpieces, so that curved shank-pieces of uniform width will be formed, and means, to be described, is provided for adjusting said narrow cuttingblock to project to the proper amount to be engaged bysaid knives as said cutting-block is worn away by the action of said knives and the ribbon.

Figure l is a plan view of the machine with all its parts in position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1,- with the vertical driving-shaft, bevel-gears, and camlevers removed, showing a part of one knife and means for operating an arm to disengage the waste piece from the knives, to be hereinafter referred to. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the lower frame of the machine, the upper casting and parts connected therewith removed, showing the dr'iving-pulleys and main horizontal and vertical driving-shafts, bevelgear for revolving said vertical driving-shaft,

and eccentric arms for reciprocating the knife carrying frame and feed mechanism. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the lower frame of the machine, showing said horizontal and vertical driving-shafts, bevel-gear for revolving said vertical driving-shaft, eccentric arms for reciprocating the knife-carrying frame, and serrated feed-roll of the feeding mechanism. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lower easting with parts thereof broken away to show a ratchet-andpawl device for operating the feed mechanism. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show details of the cutting-block and adjusting device therefor, to be referred to; and Fig. 9 is a side elevation and plan view of a part of the arm for disengaging the waste piece,showing teeth and flat -faced projections formed therein, to be referred to.

The letter a represents the lower frame or casting of the machine, and b the upper frame, containing the working parts of the machine. The knife-carrying frame, to which the knives dare secured, is arranged to work in bearings located in the upper and lower castings a and b of the machine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, said knife-carrying frame consisting of bars 0, arranged at an angle to each other and crossing one above the other. Eccentric arms 0 are arranged to reciprocate said knife-carrying frame, said eccentric arms a being pivoted at one end to said knife-carrying frame and at the other end to eccentric portions 0", carried upon the vertical driving-shaft c of the machine, said vertical shaft 0 being driven by a main horizontal shaft 0 by bevel-gears c and 0 carried upon said vertical and horizontal shafts, respectively, as shown in Figs. 3 and l of the drawings. As said vertical shaft 0 revolves said knife-carrying frame will be reciprocated by IOO said eccentric arms 0 pivoted thereto. The knives d for cutting out the shank-pieces are secured in knife-holders d, which may be bolted to said bars 6 of said knife-carrying frame, and said knife-holders d are provided with adjusting-screws d for adjusting said knives, as shownin Figs. 1 and'3 of the drawings. The feed mechanism for feeding the thin strip or ribbon e to. said knives d consists of a large serrated or roughened roll 6 and a small smooth-faced roll 6 located with relation to said large roll 6 so as to form a narrow opening or slit through which the thin strip or ribbon 6 passes, and guides e and e are provided one on each side of said ribbon c, said guide 6 being removable, as will be explained, and said guides e and e are located next to said rolls e and e for directing theribbon e to a position in front of a cutting-block 6 located directly opposite to and in front of said reciprocating knives cl. Means for revolving said large feed-roll e to advance the ribbon e is provided, consisting of a ratchet-and-pawl device, and said ratoh et 6 is arranged beneath said large feed-roll 6' upon the shaft e therefor, connected therewith, and an arm 6 having a pawl e is movably secured to said shaft 6 and connected with another arm or connecting-rod e", which ismovably secured to a disk crank e mounted upon the lower end of said vertical shaft 0 so that as said vertical shaft 0 revolves said connecting-rod 6, arm a, and pawl 6 pivoted thereto, will rotate said ratchet e a small part of a revolution, and said large serrated feed-roll e, connected, therewith, will advance said ribbon e to a position in front of said cutting-block. e and directly opposite said knives d, and said ratchet c and connections are so arranged that said ribbon will be advanced the width of a shank-piece tobe cut therefrom by said knives d.

The small feed-roll e of the feed mechanism is journaled in a part of the frame of the machine 6 having a hinged connection c with the main frame thereof, so that said part of the frame e may be moved back or swung open uponits hinge connection 6 to separate said small roll 6 from said large roll 6', and

said removable guide 6 may be taken from the machine, so that pieces of ribbon that may become clogged between said rolls, interfering with the feeding of said ribbon 6, may be removed, the part of the frame a being shown swung back by dotted lines in Fig. l. Said part of the frame a may have a socket e, and a lever 6 will be provided and pivoted to the upper casting b of said main frame of the machine, having a pin e adapted to enter said socket e to lock said part of said frame 6 so that said small feed-roll 6 will beheld in position to cooperate with said large serrated feed-roll e to feed the ribbon c to said knives d, as shown in Fig. 1, and said small'feed-roll e is provided with a spring connection with the part of the frame o of the machine to press the ribbon against said large feed-roll c with a yielding pressure, which is carried out by pivoting arms e adapted to carry said small feed-roll e to said hinge part of the frame e, and providing said arms c with extensions e adapted to act as levers, and providing spiral springs c threaded on central rods or bolts 0 connecting said extensions 6 of said arms 6 to lugs e ,formed one above the other on said part of the frame c, and said central rods or bolts 6 have heads e bearing against saidlugs 6 and adjusting-nuts e threaded thereon, and said spiral springs 6 may be adjusted so that a narrow slit is formed between said rolls 6 and c, said heads 6 of said bolts or rods 0 .preventing said springs e from bringing said feed-roll 6 against and in contact with said large feed-roll 6 when not engaging the ribbon c. The object of this arrangement of parts, which may be readily understood from Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, is to facilitate the entering of a strip or ribbon between said feed-rolls 6 e As the ribbon e is fed in front of the cutting-block e in position for said knives d to cut out shank-pieces an arm a is provided for pressing said ribbon 6 against said cutting-block e, and said arm a may be provided with pointed teeth a adapted to enter said ribbon e and press it against said cutting-block 6 and said pointed teeth a may have arranged between them fiat-faced projections 61, for facilitating the pressing and straightening of said ribbon e against said cutting-block 6 as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings. The ribbon being in position in front of said cutting-block 6 said knives d advance and out out the piece or strip held by the arm a, the piece cut out being a waste piece between the shank-pieces, as shown at (0 Fig. 3, saidknives cl forming one side of two adjacent shank-pieces, and as said ribbon e is fed to said knives (Z the width of a shank-piece to be cut out and as the operation of cutting out the waste piece a is repeated a finished shank-piece will be formed with beveled edges and one side of a shankpiece to be finished when the ribbon e is again fed through the rolls 6 and e and advances and the knives 01 again sever a waste piece a. therefrom, so that shank-pieces are formed by cutting out and removing a piece or strip called a waste piece a between the shankpieces. The thin ribbon e is usually curved, being cut from a bolt of wood with a curved knife, so that shank-pieces when out therefrom by said knives (1 will curve to conform, substantially, to the curve of a shank of a shoe. As the curved strip (2 is fed in front of said cutting-block 0 said arm a presses said ribbon e firmly against said cutting-block c straightening it, just before the knives dad'- vance to sever the waste piece 00 so that shank-pieces of uniform width will be formed, it being obvious that if the curved ribbon was not straightened while being cut the ends of shank-pieces cut out would be narrower than the middle thereof. Said cutting-block e is formed of a narrow piece of soft metal held in a casting a, bolted to the upper and lower frames Z) and a of the machine, said casting also forming said guide 6 for the ribbon and having said removable guide 0" secured thereto. Said knives (Z are constructed and arranged to strike at an angle against opposite sides of said cutting-block e" as the shank-pieces are severed from the ribbon c, and means is provided to renew said cutting-block c as it wears away, as will now be described. A plate n is arranged directly behind said narrow piece of soft metal, hav ing projections or ribs n arranged at a sharp angle thereto, adapted to enter similarly-an ranged slots 21 formed in a bar n located directly behind said plate a and adapted to be raised or moved upwardly by arod if. A plate a is arranged to h old said on tting-block e and plate a in position, having bolts 11, passing through slots 91 formed in said plate it, and into threaded holes in said casting a, and said rod it, connected to said bar a is adapted to pass up through the u pper casting b of the machine, the end thereof entering said bar a being threaded, and a head a is formed upon the upper end thereof, so that by turning said head n said bar n will be raised or drawn upwardly, moving plate a laterally and projecting said piece of soft metal 6, located directly in front thereof, laterally from said casting 7b to renew said cutting-block c", and said bolts w", passing through said plate or into said casting a, may be turned to clamp said cutting-block e and securely hold it in place. Said knives (Z may fail to completely sever the waste piece a which may be tightly wedged between said knives d, and to disengage said waste piece a means is provided for moving said arm a forcibly in a downward direction, which tears the waste piece a from the ribbon e if not completely severed therefrom by said knives (Z, and as said arm a moves in a downward direction it will move outwardly to clear the space between said knives d, the severed waste piece a being ret ained upon the end of said arm a by the pointed teeth of, formed therein. As the arm a and waste piece a adhering to the end thereof move outwardly said waste piece a comes in contact with a projection a which disengages it from said arm ct,when it drops out of the machine. To operate said arm ct, a disk crank a is provided and secured to the vertical driving-shaft 0 above the upper casting 6 of the machine, and a crank-arm a and lever a are pivotallyconnected together and to a vertical spindle or shaft a, free to turn in bearings in the frame of the machine upon which said arm a is secured, so that as said vertical driving-shaft c and disk crank a revolve said crank-arm a and lever (i will swing or partially rotate said arm a inwardly, the teeth thereof engaging and entering the waste piece, an adjustable set screw (0 through said arm a coming against a stop or pro ection a, formed in a casting (Z to which said projection c is secured, said adjusting-screw a being arranged to strike upon or come against said stop a as said teeth a of said arm a enter the ribbon c to prevent said arm. ct from striking the cutting block and knives when the ribbon is not in front thereof. To press said ribbon e against said cutting-block c while the knives (Z are severing the waste piece a therefrom and to provide for a pausing or waiting of said arm a while in contact with the ribbon c, means is employed for moving said crankarm a through a part of its stroke without rotating or moving said arm a, and to accomplish this result said crank-arm a will be provided with a rod a having thereon a nut a, bearing against a shoulder a of said crank-arm a and said rod (Z is arranged to extend longitudinally or lengthwise of said crank-arm a and a sleeve (0 is carried upon said red at, said sleeve a being ar 'anged to allow said rod a a limited amount of play in the direction of its length to shorten said crank-arm a as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings by dotted lines, and a strong spiral spring a is wound around said sleeve a and adapted to normally hold said nut a pressed against said shoulder ct of said crank-arm a and as said crank-arm a reciprocates it will shorten, compensating, While said arm ct, connected therewith,pauses in its movement,said spiral spring a holding it pressed against the ribbon c. As soon as said knives (Z have severed the waste piece a from the ribbon c to give said arm a a downward motion, above re ferred to, to tear said waste piece clear from between said knives (Z, said shaft or spindle a", upon which said arm c is secured, may be free to move up and down vertically, and a cam a and lever a, engaging a projecting collar a secured to said vertical spindle a", are constructed and arranged to normally support said vertical spindle or shaft a in a raised position while said arm a is in contact with and is pressing and straightening said ribbon 6 against the cutting-block c, and as said waste piece a is severed from the ribbon ea cam-roller a, mounted upon said camlever a, engaging and traveling around said cam a, comes to a shoulder c formed in the the face of said cam a", dropping therefrom, whereupon said vertical shaft or spindle a being free to fall drops by gravity, carrying said arm a with it, which disengagcs and removes the waste piece a cut out of said ribbon c and lying between said knives (Z. To quicken the dropping motion of said arm ct, a strong spiral spring (1, is wound around that part of said vertical spindle or shaft a below the lowercasting a of the machine, and said spiral spring a is arranged to be compressed while said arm is in engagement with the ribbon c, and said arm a is held in its normal raised position by said cam-rollcrot of said lever a rolling around an even portion of said cam a, and as said cam-roller a drops over said shoulder d of said cam a" the tension of said spiral spring (L21, in addition to gravity, will quicken and accelerate the drop of said arm a, and to deaden the shock and take up the jar a buffer 09 will be secured to said vertical shaft or spindle a? and adapted to strike upon the frame of the machine as said arm a drops.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

*The parts being adjusted to perform their proper function at the proper time, power is applied to the horizontal driving-shaft 0 which is communicated through the bevelgears c and c to the vertical driving-shaft c for operating the different parts of the machine. The ribbon c is passed between the rolls e and e and is directed between said guides e and e to a position in front of the cutting-block 6 directly opposite the knives cl. The play in the crank-arm a causes the arm a, to pause in its motion and press against the said ribbon e, straightening the same and holding it firmly against said cutting-block e. The eccentric arms 0' for reciprocating the knife-carrying frame advance said knives d against said cutting-block e severing the waste piece on from the ribbon e and cutting outashank-piece. As soon as the Waste piece a is severed by said knives d the cam-roller a arrives at the shoulder a on the cam a" and drops over, allowing said arm a, to drop, quiokened by the spiral spring afflwound upon the vertical shaft or spindle a", tearing the waste piece a clear from the knives d, the projection a disengaging said waste'piece from said arm a as it swings or rotates to its normal position. The cam-roller a, continuing on the cam a", raises said arm a to its normal position, and said crank-arm a and connections again rotate or swing said arm a into engagement with the ribbon 6, when it pauses, straightening and pressingthe same against said cutting-block 6 between said knives cl, just previous to which the ratchet-and-pawl device will have turned the large serrated feed-roll e a small part of a revolution to ad- Vance the ribbon e the width of a shank-piecev to be cut out by the knives.

I claim 1. In a machine for cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon obliquely disposed, simultaneously-cutting knives cooperating to sever a single shank-piece at each operation thereof, a'common drive-shaft, and means for connecting the knives with the drive-shaft for operating said knives, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon obliquely disposed, simultaneously-cutting knives cooperating to sever a single shank-piece at each operation thereof, a common drive-shaft, and arms for reciprocating said knives, one end of each connected to a knife and the other end engaging an eccentric on the drive-shaft, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cuttingblock obliquely disposed, simultaneously-cutting knives cooperating to sever a single shank-piece at each operation thereof, a common drive-shaft, means for connecting the knives with the drive-shaft for operating said knives, and means for straightening the strip or ribbon and pressing it against the cuttingblock, substantially as described.

4. In a machinefor cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from astrip or ribbon, a cuttingblock obliquely disposed, sim ultaneously-cutting knives cooperating to sever a single shank-piece at each operation thereof, a common drive-shaft, means for connecting the knives with the drive-shaft for operating said knives, means for feeding the strip or ribbon between said cutting-block and said knives, means for straightening the strip or ribbon and pressing it against the cutting-block, and means for successively operating the feeding means, the knives and the straightening and pressing means, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, reciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, a reciprocating arm for straightening the strip or ribbon, pressing it against the cuttingblock while a waste piece is being cut out, and for disengaging and removing the waste piece from said knives, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, reciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, an arm, means for reciprocating said arm to straighten the strip or ribbon and press it against the cutting-blockwhile a waste piece is being cut out, and means for reciprocating said arm to remove the waste piece from said knives, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, reciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, a reciprocating arm for straightening the strip or ribbon, pressing it against the cuttingblock while a waste piece is being cut out, and for disengaging and removing the waste piece from said knives, and means for removing the waste piecefrom said arm, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, re ciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, an arm, means for operating said arm to straighten the strip or ribbon and pressing it against the cutting-block while a waste piece is being cut out, means for reciprocating said arm to remove the waste piece from the knives, and means for removing the waste piece from said arm, substantially as described.

9. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cuttingblock, a drive-shaft, knives for cutting on a bevel, arms for reciprocating said knives, one end of each connected to a knife and the other end to the drive-shaft, an arm, a crank-arm connecting said arm with the drive-shaft for reciprocating it back and forth to straighten the strip or ribbon and press it against the cutting-block While a Waste piece is being cut out, and a cam-lever connecting said arm with the drive-shaft for reciprocating it up and down to remove the Waste piece from the knives, substantially as described.

10. 111 a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, a drive-shaft, reciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, an arm, a crank-arm connecting said arm with the drive-shaft for reciprocating it back and forth to straighten the strip or ribbon and press it against the eutting block while a waste piece is being cut out, and a cam-lever connecting said arm with the driveshaft for reciprocating it up and down to remove the Waste piece from the knives, substantially as described.

11. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cuttingblock, reciprocating knives for cutting on a bevel, means for feeding the strip or ribbon between said cutting-block and said knives, and a reciprocating arm for straightening the strip or ribbon; pressing it against the cutting-block While a Waste piece is being cut out, and for removing the Waste piece from the knives, substantially as described.

12. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, simultaneously-cutting knives cooperating to sever a single shank-piece at each operation thereof, a common drive-shaft, means for connecting the knives with the drive-shaft for operating said knives, and means for feeding the strip or ribbon between said cutting-block and said knives, substantially as described.

13. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, knives, a cuttingblock, an arm, means for operating said arm to straighten the strip or ribbon, press it against the cutting-block, and remove the Waste piece from the knives, substantially as described.

It. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, an arm, means for operating said arm to straighten the strip or ribbon, press it against the cutting-block, and remove the Waste piece thereon from theknivcs,substantiallyas described.

15. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a main frame, a feedroller mounted therein, an auxiliary frame hinged to said main frame having a roller mounted in its outer end, said rollers adapted to cooperate with each other to feed the strip or ribbon to the cutting-knives, and means for holding said rollers in or out of operative position, substantially as described.

16. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a main frame, a feedroller mounted therein, an auxiliary frame hinged to said main frame, and arms pivoted at one end to one end of the auxiliary frame and carrying a roller, and the other ends having an adjustable yielding connection with the other end of the auxiliary frame, substantially as described.

17. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a main frame, a feedroller mounted therein, an auxiliary frame hinged to said main frame, arms pivoted at one end to one end of the auxiliary frame and carrying a roller, a rod one end of which is adjustably connected to the other end of said arms, and the other end of said rod loosely connected with the auxiliary frame, and a spring mounted on said rod whereby an adjustable yielding connection between said arms and the auxiliary frame is provided, substantially as described.

18. In a machine for cutting shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, and means for adjusting the same, comprising a plate for engaging said cutting-block, a bar for moving said plate, and a rod for moving said bar, substantially as described.

19. In a machine for cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, obliquely-disposed bars carrying obliquelydisposed simultaneously cutting knives, a common drive-shaft, and arms for reciprocating said bars and knives one end of each connected to a knife-bar and the other end to the drive-shaft, substantially as described.

20. In a machine for cutting bevel-ended shank-pieces from a strip or ribbon, a cutting-block, obliquely-disposed bars carrying obliquelydisposed simultaneously cutting knives, a common drive shaft, eccentrics thereon, and arms for reciprocating said bars and knives, one end of each connected to a knife-bar and the other end engaging an eccentric on the drive-shaft, substantially as described.

21. In a machine of the kind described, a cutting-block, knives for cutting out a waste piece from a strip or ribbon, an arm secured to a vertical spindle and adapted to press said ribbon against 'said cutting-block and to thereafter drop to disengage said Waste piece, a crank-arm for pressing said arm against said strip or ribbon, a cam-lever engaging said vertical spindle to support said arm, a cam, a roller on said cam-lever arranged to move over a shoulder upon said cam whereupon said arm drops by gravity and a spring for quickenin g the drop of said arm, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Bangor, Maine, thislOth day of April, 1900.

JOHN LEVVISl Witnesses:

WM. B. PEIRCE, HARRY O. ROBINSON. 

